“Families headed by single mothers are more apt than dual-sex parent families to provide children with a broad model of women’s roles since they are more apt to depart from adherence to traditional sex roles (Gamble, 2003)(p.212).”

My mother had been married, and divorced, three times. Yes, three times. First, she married my father when she was in her teens, they divorced after I was born, then she married my brothers’ father, and divorced a long while later, then she married my stepfather. In between my brothers’ father and my stepfather, she was single for a pretty little time. During that time, I had just moved in with her once again and the most significant thing I remember from her during that time period was that I was and should be a strong, independent woman. Then, it was all about her and her children.

In contrast, since her last divorce, my mother had changed completely. Since the divorce, she’s had two serious relationships and a few flings in the middle. Throughout all of them, she’s been needy and dependent on them. She’s essentially become the woman she told me not to be and this is upsetting. Part of this reason is why our relationship is so estranged, among other things. To me, she went from being a strong, modern woman to a stereotypical traditional, weak woman who was completely dependent on men (Gamble, 2003). She went backwards! She became the stereotypical woman outlined in the text. Most of all, I find it so interesting that she made such a strong impression on me when I was younger and now, it’s just not there anymore.
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.